Rarely, if ever, has a domestic season kicked off in uglier weather but Bath could not care less. Two final-quarter tries by their dominant forwards and the boot of fly-half George Ford were enough to secure a relatively comfortable first victory of the new Premiership campaign despite soaking conditions better suited to trawler fishing than professional rugby union.

Pretty it was not, hardly what BT Sport must have had in mind as a showcase for a bright sparkling new televisual dawn. Signing up for warts-and-all coverage, however, carries the obvious risk and the forwards on both sides displayed enough intent to make it a half-decent wrestling contest.

The Bath pack, on this evidence, look in meaner mood than they have done for a while. With Dave Attwood and Matt Garvey both prominent and a rock-solid defensive line spread across the field, it proved a relentlessly tough night for the Falcons on their return to the top flight.

Newcastle's prop Franck Montanella was a frequent handful in the tight and the loose but the home back-line is not noticeably stocked with massive quality. The Newcastle director of rugby, Dean Richards, will have been happier with the work-rate of his forwards despite the blank scoresheet.

In the conditions, though, attacking opportunities were always going to be at a premium. As the rain swept across the ground on a strengthening wind it felt like a February evening rather than a late summer night, the north-east monsoon season having arrived early. Viewers switching on for BT Sport's Premiership debut could have been forgiven for thinking they were watching the water polo.It should not have come as a total surprise to Mike Ford and Gary Gold, the Bath coaches who spent a brief spell at Newcastle in a previous sporting life.

Any chance of early momentum was also ruined by a lengthy stoppage for an injury to the Falcons' centre Jamie Helleur, knocked cold by the onrushing Matt Banahan. Concussion is an increasingly high-profile topic but the Rugby Football Union insists there is no evidence to suggest the incidence of head knocks within the game is on the increase.

There was, however, a genuine danger of the backs catching a cold as the two packs slugged it out. The Bath defence is a particularly resilient unit and for all the Falcons' attempts to drive round the corner they struggled to make any consistent inroads despite enjoying plenty of first-half territory.

Two penalties from Ford, the second a beauty into the wind, yielded the only points of the first 40 minutes, with Phil Godman pushing his solitary attempt wide of the right upright five minutes before the break. It had the feel of a costly miss, particularly as the Falcons scrum had just managed to extract a hard-earned penalty thanks to the increasingly prominent Montanella, a shrewd signing from London Welsh.

His former Exiles's team-mate Gavin Henson also featured off the bench for Bath as a replacement for Kyle Eastmond, who went off just before half-time with a dead leg. Having already been punched by one of his new colleagues Henson has it all to prove and a shovelled pass which flew beyond his winger Semesa Rokoduguni and straight into touch was not the most auspicious calling card.

Bath and Henson are still feeling their way and the early signs are that Ford will take some shifting from the No10 jersey. The youngster's third penalty was another fine effort from wide out before the final quarter produced a rumbling 64th minute try by the replacement prop Anthony Perenise and a late penalty try for collapsing a maul.

Gold made a point of stressing he is "not in the business of making wild predictions" about where his side may finish and Richards was sparing with his praise for the visitors.

"I think against bigger sides they'll come unstuck but tonight they were very effective and played the conditions better than us," he said.

"It's a long season and it's not about the first game, it's about where you finish at the end of the season."